Marketing campaign application for multiple electronic distribution channels

ABSTRACT

A system is disclosed for allowing a merchant to create offers for distribution via multiple distribution channels. The distribution channels may include social media networks and location based services. The method may include receiving offer parameters for generating the offer, generating offer data based on the offer parameters and merchant transaction data, and determining data subsets of the offer data for distribution through multiple electronic distribution channels. The systems and methods may include associating a transaction account of the account holder with the offer, monitoring a transaction of the transaction account, comparing with a criterion governing the offer, and generating a report for the merchant. The report may include various metrics of the offer, such as return on investment, tracking information on the number of repeat customers and new customers during an offer period, and may occur approximately real-time with the transaction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, claims priority to and thebenefit of, U.S. Ser. No. 13/926,789 filed on Jun. 25, 2013 and entitled“MARKETING CAMPAIGN APPLICATION FOR MULTIPLE ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTIONCHANNELS.” The '789 application claims priority to and the benefit ofU.S. Ser. No. 61/698,244 filed Sep. 7, 2012, entitled “MARKETINGCAMPAIGN APPLICATION FOR MULTIPLE ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS,” Allof which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to generating an offer fordistribution across multiple electronic distribution channels.

BACKGROUND

As the internet and electronic communications evolve into moreinteractive and personalized experiences for a user, more and morechannels of electronic communication are developed, marketing effortsmay be distributed across the multiple electronic communicationchannels, including various social media platforms. A merchant may beprovided new opportunities to reach customers and potential customers ina faster, more targeted manner than conventional marketing. These newopportunities come with the burden of a merchant needing to generate andmanage redundant and/or multiple offers for distribution across themultiple electronic communication channels. Further, it may be verydifficult for a merchant to be able to calculate the return or benefitof multiple offers across the various channels.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments, the present disclosure provides methods,systems, and computer readable medium for allowing a merchant to createoffers for distribution via multiple electronic distribution channels.The electronic distribution channels may include social media networksand location based services. In various embodiments, the methodcomprises receiving, at a computer-based system, offer parameters forgenerating an offer, generating offer data based on the offer parametersand based on at least one of merchant data and multiple account holders'data, wherein the offer comprises providing a coupon-less offer to anaccount holder, determining a first data subset of the offer data fordistribution through a first electronic distribution channel, anddetermining a second data subset of the offer data for distributionthrough a second electronic distribution channel. The offer parametersmay be received from a merchant. Additionally, at least one of the firstdata subset distributed through the first electronic distributionchannel is based on the capabilities of the first electronicdistribution channel, and wherein the second data subset distributedthrough the second electronic distribution channel is based on thecapabilities of the second electronic distribution channel. In variousembodiments, the first electronic distribution channel and the secondelectronic distribution channel individually comprise at least one of amerchant website, a social media website, an affiliate website, apartner website, an external vendor, and a mobile device communication.

Further, in various embodiments, the method can also comprise receivinga selection of at least one merchant location for redemption of theoffer. The method may include receiving a selection of a criterion forthe offer. The offer parameters can be provided based on a businessobjective, and wherein the business objective is at least one ofacquisition of new customers, and loyalty of prior customers. Also, thecomputer-based system can provide offer parameter guidelines based onthe business objective. In various embodiments, the method can furthercomprise matching an accepted offer with a record of charge (ROC) in atransaction account held by the account holder, and crediting thetransaction account based upon the matching. Similarly, thecomputer-based system may debit a transaction account held by a merchantin response to the crediting. A transaction account held by the merchantsystem may be debited in response to the computer-based system matchingan accepted offer with a record of charge in a transaction account heldby the account holder.

The account holder may be selected based on account history, where theaccount history comprises at least one of prior transaction data,loyalty points, reward points, location of prior transactions, pastpurchases, transaction amount, transaction volume, and account status.Further, the account holder may be selected based on at least one ofdemographics and a location of the account holder. The location of theaccount holder may be determined based upon at least one of: a zip code,a GPS signal, a location signal and a submitted location by the accountholder.

In addition to generating an offer, the system and method may furtherinclude associating a transaction account of the account holder with theoffer, monitoring a transaction of the transaction account, comparingthe transaction with a criterion governing the offer, and generating areport based on the transaction and account holder data. In addition, invarious embodiments, the method may comprise obtaining transaction dataof one or more transactions at the merchant from a third-partyinstitution, where the transaction data corresponds to account holderdata, comparing the one or more transactions with a criterion governingthe offer, and generating a report based on the one or more transactionsand the account holder data. Providing the report to an entity thatprovides the offer parameters. The report may be provided to an entitythat provides the offer parameters. The reporting information in thereport may include at least one of number of the offers transmitted,number of the offers accepted, number of the offers redeemed, totalvalue of the redeemed offers, average size of the transaction involvingthe offer, and rate of the offer redemption. The reporting informationin the report may include a return on investment, where the return oninvestment is based on a comparison of the first transactions during anoffer period and second transactions during a non-offer period.Additionally, the reporting information in the report may includenon-transaction information, where the non-transaction informationincludes at least one of demographic information of the account holderand social media indicators. The reporting information in the report mayinclude tracking information on repeat customers and new customersduring an offer period. Also, the generation of the report can occurapproximately real-time with the transaction. One advantage ofapproximately real-time report generation is the ability to modify theoffer based on the reporting data. The real-time reporting mayfacilitate generating a second marketing campaign that modifies theoffer based on reporting information in the report.

In various embodiments, the present disclosure provides methods andsystems for setting, by a merchant system, offer parameters, where anoffer is generated based on the offer parameters by a computer-basedsystem configured to facilitate the offer, selecting a first electronicdistribution channel and a second electronic distribution channel, wherethe offer is distributed by the computer-based system to an accountholder via the first electronic distribution channel and the secondelectronic distribution channel, and receiving, at the merchant systemand from the computer-based system, a report based on a transactionassociated with the offer. The method and system may further include amerchant selecting a merchant location for redemption of the offer, orsetting a criterion for the offer. In various embodiments, thecomputer-based system can be configured to generate offer data based onthe offer parameters and merchant transaction data, where thecomputer-based system is further configured to determine a first datasubset of the offer data for distribution through the first electronicdistribution channel and determine a second data subset of the offerdata for distribution through the second electronic distributionchannel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings, wherein like numbers refer to likeelements.

FIG. 1 is a high level flow diagram of a process for generation andmanagement of an offer across multiple distribution channels, inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system diagram, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary high-level method of using a marketingcampaign application 210, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method of generating an offer campaign,in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary screenshot of a merchant log-in page ofthe marketing campaign application, in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate exemplary screenshots of a social network set-uppage of the marketing campaign application, in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method of segmenting an offer based on abusiness objective, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary screenshot of constructing an offercampaign, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary table of offer guidelines for an offercampaign, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary screenshot of constructing anoffer campaign, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary screenshot of a reviewing an offercampaign, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIGS. 12A-12B illustrate exemplary screenshots of selecting socialnetworks for electronic distribution of an offer campaign, in accordancewith various embodiments;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an offer campaign on amobile device, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary screenshot of location management of anoffer campaign, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary screenshot of a management dashboard ofa marketing campaign application, in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary screenshot of a reporting function of amarketing campaign application, in accordance with various embodiments;and

FIG. 17 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system usedfor implementing various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes referenceto the accompanying drawings, which show the exemplary embodiments byway of illustration and their best mode. While these exemplaryembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the disclosure, it should be understood thatother embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanicalchanges may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented forpurposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, thesteps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may beexecuted in any order and are not limited to the order presented.Moreover, any of the functions or steps may be outsourced to orperformed by one or more third parties. Furthermore, any reference tosingular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than onecomponent may include a singular embodiment.

The present disclosure provides a method and system for facilitating thecreation (e.g., by a merchant) of offers for distribution (e.g., viamultiple electronic distribution channels). In various embodiments, andwith reference to FIG. 1, a method comprises receiving offer parameters(e.g., from a merchant or third party entity) (step 101), generating theoffer based on the offer parameters, data related to the merchant and/ormultiple account holders (step 102), modifying the offer fordistribution through a first electronic distribution channel (step 103),and modifying the offer for distribution through a second electronicdistribution channel (step 104).

A system for implementing the described method, in various embodimentsand with reference to FIG. 2, may include a marketing campaign systemcomprising a merchant system 201 in communication with a marketingcampaign application 210, with the marketing campaign application 210being in further communication with multiple electronic distributionchannels 220. The marketing campaign application 210 receives offerparameters from merchant 201 or a third party entity. The campaignparameters may include merchant defined parameters, such as, forexample, minimum spend, discount requirements, campaign duration, and/orlocations accepting the campaign offer. In addition, marketing campaignapplication 210 may also receive merchant data and/or multiple accountholders' data. The merchant data may be received from merchant 201and/or a separate database. Similarly, multiple account holders' datamay be received from one or more financial institutions, paymentprocessors and/or a separate database. Marketing campaign application210 generates offer data based on the offer parameters, merchant data,and/or multiple account holders' data. In various embodiments, marketingcampaign application 210 determines which data of the offer data toprovide to a specific electronic distribution channel. The determinationof which data to provide is based on the capabilities of the specificelectronic distribution channel. The electronic distribution channelcapabilities can include various media content, hyperlinks, variousdisplay formats, various graphical options, and the like. The offer datamay be modified for different electronic distribution channels in orderto operate in association with the appropriate formats, provided data,graphical display, and other elements/functions as would be known to oneskilled in the art after reading the present disclosure. The marketingcampaign application 210 can be configured to parse the offer data inorder to provide a subset of the offer data to the specific electronicdistribution channel. Accordingly, the marketing campaign application210 may generate a first data subset of the offer data to provide to afirst electronic distribution channel 220A. The marketing campaignapplication 210 may also be configured to generate additional datasubsets of the offer data to provide to one or more additional channels,such as a second data subset for a second electronic distributionchannel 220B, a third data subset for a third electronic distributionchannel 220C, a fourth data subset for a fourth electronic distributionchannel 220D, etc.

In accordance with various embodiments, the individual electronicdistribution channels may impact the formatting and appearance of theindividual offers of the offer. Marketing campaign application 210 canbe configured to provide specific input data to each electronicdistribution channel, such that each individual channel receives theappropriate offer data. In various embodiments, the first electronicdistribution channel 220 and/or the second electronic distributionchannel 220 may comprise at least one of a merchant website, a socialmedia website, affiliate or partner websites, an external vendor, amobile device communication, social media network and/or location basedservice. Examples of social media channels include Facebook®,Foursquare®, Twitter®, MySpace®, LinkedIn®, and the like. Examples ofaffiliate or partner websites include American Express®, Groupon®,LivingSocial®, and the like. Moreover, examples of mobile devicecommunications include texting, email, MMS and/or mobile applicationsfor smartphones.

One benefit of marketing campaign application 210 is that merchant 201does not have to fully or partially develop and manage multiple offersover multiple distribution channels. Marketing campaign application 210fully or partially facilitates the development and management aspects ofmultiple subsets of offer data over multiple channels through a singleinterface. In this way, the offer data may be fully or partiallyconsistent and merchant 201 can make a single change at marketingcampaign application 210 that is incorporated in one or more of themultiple subsets of offer data. Furthermore, in various embodiments,merchant 201 can use the single interface to make changes specific toone or more offers without changing all the offers. For furtherinformation about changes to one offer (or offer model) impacting otheroffers (or offer models), see U.S. Pat. No. 8,150,662 issued on Apr. 3,2012 and entitled “METHOD AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM FOR VISUALIZINGDEPENDENCIES OF SIMULATION MODELS,” which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

Creating an offer using the marketing campaign application 210 involvesvarious steps for the user (e.g. merchant/marketing company). In variousembodiments and with reference to FIG. 3, to create an offer a merchantaccesses the marketing campaign application 210 landing page (301), andlogs into the merchant site (302) of the marketing campaign application210. The merchant sets up an offer campaign (303) and submits an offerfor confirmation (304) by the marketing campaign application 210.

The setting up of an offer campaign may include various steps. Forexample and with reference to FIG. 4, a method of setting up an offercan include selecting a segment 401 which can include the purpose behindthe offer such as acquisition, loyalty, or all-inclusive (as furtherexplained herein). The method may also include selecting a construct 402of whether the offer is a percentage discount, a certain value discount,and/or other. The method can also include selecting a duration 403 ofthe offer such as, for example a fixed date duration, a redemption cap,and/or a long-term offer expiration. Further, if the merchant has morethan one location and/or website, the method can include selecting oneor more locations 404 to be valid for the offer. After the offercampaign framework is setup, the merchant can review the offer andsubmit for confirmation 405. The marketing campaign application 210 canbe configured to confirm the offer campaign and various electronicdistribution channels, including third party channels 406. Theconfirmation may be based on any suitable criteria such as, for example,appropriateness of discount or reward, conformance with rules, durationrequirements, etc.

Various examples of application screen shots and offers are presented toprovide additional detail to the above disclosure. For example, FIG. 5is one example of a merchant log-in page for accessing the marketingcampaign application 210. The merchant provides a user identificationand password for authentication and accessing the merchant's account.After a merchant has logged-on to the marketing campaign application210, the merchant can connect to various electronic distributionchannels as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6D. In the exemplary screen shots,the electronic distribution channels include social media channels suchas, for example, Facebook® and Foursquare®.

In various embodiments and with respect to FIG. 7, an offer campaign canbe directed towards a selected segment of people based on a businessobjective, such as acquisition, loyalty, or all-inclusive. Theacquisition objective can be designed to send the offer campaign to newcustomers that have not sufficiently patronized the merchant. Theloyalty campaign can be designed to send the offer campaign to priorcustomers who have previously patronized the merchant. The all-inclusivecampaign can be designed to send the offer campaign to both new andprior customers, and therefore reach a wider segment of people. Withinthe various segments, other criteria may be applied to further segmentthe directed offer. The other criteria may include a customer'slocation, a customer's patronage of similar or related merchants, howrecently a customer patronized a merchant, and/or people or entitiesassociated with the customer patronizing or being associated with themerchant. Customer interaction, association or patronization may bedetermined by merchant data, customer data or payment processor data.

The parameters of an offer are formed in order to build an offercampaign. The parameters may be set by the merchant. Further, themarketing campaign application 210 may suggest parameters for themerchant's consideration. With reference to FIG. 8, the exemplary screenshot illustrates selecting parameters such as percent discount ordiscount value, a spend threshold to receive the discount, the number ofvisits to use the offer, the duration (start and end dates), and whetherthe offer can be capped at a specific number of offers or redeemedoffers. The referenced screen shot provides recommendations of theparameters to the merchant based on the merchant's average customer.

In accordance with various embodiments and with reference to FIG. 9, themarketing campaign application 210 can set boundaries and/or guidelinesfor the offer parameters according to the business objective. Forexample, an offer campaign with an all-inclusive objective can have adiscount value guideline of 20% to 50%, with a 20% value being thedefault. Similarly, an offer campaign with a loyalty objective can havea discount value guideline of 15% to 50%, with a 15% value being thedefault. Likewise, an offer campaign with an acquisition objective canhave a discount value guideline of 30% to 50%, with a 30% value beingthe default. The guideline limitations may be optional or required. Themarketing campaign application 210 can require offers in line with themotivation so that it may provide guidance to the merchant. Furthermore,the marketing campaign application 210 is able to apply prior offer datato the current campaign, for example, by imposing such limitations.

In various embodiments, the marketing campaign application 210 iscapable of providing recommendations based on an average customerbecause the marketing campaign application 210 receives past merchanttransaction data from a payment processor or a third party institution.The past merchant transaction data includes both information on themerchant transactions and also information on the merchant's customers.For example and with reference to FIG. 10, the marketing campaignapplication 210 can provide offer parameter recommendations based on theaverage customer spending $45 per transaction and conducting 100transactions a month. In this example, the average transaction amount of$45 is the basis for recommending a spend threshold of $45.

In various embodiments, the marketing campaign application 210 can varythe offer campaign based on different customer segments. For example, afirst segment or population of customers may be offered a first discountlevel and a second segment or population of customers may be offered asecond discount level. In one example, new customers may be offered adiscount level of 25% and returning customers may be offered a discountlevel of 10%. Furthermore, various customers may be added or removedfrom the offer campaign for various reasons, such as removing consistentcustomers. Irregular prior customers may also be added or removed. Foradditional detail on removing specific people from a list, U.S.application Ser. No. 12/857,389, filed Aug. 16, 2010 and entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR E-MAIL BASED REWARDS,” is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

In response to the offer campaign setup, the merchant may review andsubmit the offer, as illustrated in FIG. 11. The completed and confirmedoffer campaign can be distributed across multiple electronicdistribution channels. In various embodiments and with reference toFIGS. 12A-12B, the merchant can select which electronic distributionchannels and associated social networks to distribute the offercampaign. One example of a completed mobile offer is illustrated in FIG.13.

In addition to a merchant creating an offer campaign with variousparameters, the offer campaign can be applied to multiple merchantlocations (e.g. regions). In various embodiments and with reference toFIG. 14, a merchant may have more than one location. The offer campaigncan be valid for one or more locations, as set by the merchant. Themerchant can control which locations are valid for the offer campaignwithin the marketing campaign application 210. Furthermore, in variousembodiments, the merchant can tailor the offer campaigns to individuallocations as well. For example, a first location can have an offercampaign with an acquisition objective and a second location can have anoffer campaign with a loyalty objective.

As part of the offer, an offer may be provided to an account holder asthe customer. The offer may be valid in response to a transaction or theaccount holder satisfying at least one criterion of the offer. Thecriterion may be set by the merchant. The criterion may include one ormore of a transaction date range, an enrollment cap, a spendingpercentage, a threshold level, and/or the like. The various types ofoffers may include an offer that is partially or fully applied at thetime of the transaction, and/or an offer that is partially or fullyapplied after the transaction is completed. In order to apply the offerafter the transaction is completed, the method may include matching anaccepted offer with a record of charge (ROC) in a transaction accountheld by the account holder, and crediting the transaction account heldby the account holder based upon the matching. The offer may be arewards offer, such as an offer of a credit of monetary value to thetransaction account, a merchant prepaid account, a discount, or a creditof loyalty points. For additional detail regarding applying an offerafter the transaction is completed, U.S. application Ser. No.13/411,281, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING COUPON-LESSDISCOUNTS BASED ON A USER BROADCASTED MESSAGE,” is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety. Again, the offer may be provided to anaccount holder via one or more distribution channels.

In accordance with various embodiments, an account holder is selected toreceive an offer based on at least one of location, active registration,and/or prior transaction history. A location of an account holder may bedetermined based upon one or more of a travel itinerary, a GPS signal, alocation signal, for example, proximity of a mobile communication deviceto a cellular base station, and/or a zip code. Further, an accountholder may register to receive a coupon offer or a coupon-less offer. Invarious embodiments, a coupon offer can be redeemed when a customerpresents a physical coupon or a digital-representation, such as a barcode on a mobile phone (e.g. during the transaction checkout.) Themerchant processes the offer during the transaction and the discount maybe applied prior to completion of the checkout. The tracking andreporting of the coupon redemption can be performed by the merchant.

In various embodiments, a coupon-less offer can be redeemed during atransaction without presenting a coupon or bar code. No interactionneeds to take place at the merchant because the coupon-less offer isredeemed as a credit to the card member after the transaction iscompleted. Though coupons may be presented for a different offer duringthe transaction, it is understood that the coupon-less offer isconducted for that specific offer without a coupon present. Furthermore,a coupon provided to a user either before or after the transaction canstill be considered a coupon-less offer if no coupon or bar code ispresented during the transaction. An advantage of a coupon-less offer isthat the redemption can be tracked and reported by a payment processoror third-party. An offer from a merchant registered to providecoupon-less offers may be transmitted to a mobile communication device.In various embodiments, the offer may be provided based upon thelocation of the account holder. In various embodiments, a merchant'soffer may be limited to selecting, by the merchant, at least onemerchant location for redemption of the offer. An offer, once acceptedby an account holder, may be matched to a record of charge associatedwith a transaction account held by the account holder. A credit may beapplied to the account holder's transaction account and a debit may beapplied to a transaction account of the registered merchant. A creditmay be applied based upon a transaction complying with one or morecriteria specified by a registered merchant for a coupon-less offer. Anexemplary criterion comprises a spend level on a class of products. Oneor more offer categories and/or one or more offer category classes maybe transmitted to the mobile communication device based upon the accountholder's location.

The determination of who receives the offer may also be based (at leastin part) on the transaction history of the account holder. Furthermore,the qualification for any reward associated with the offer may be based(at least in part) on an aggregate transaction history of the accountholder. Also, the qualification for the rebate credit may be based (atleast in part) on a product identifier corresponding to at least one ofa particular product or a vendor. An offer based on a prior transactionat a first merchant may result in an offer for the same first merchantor for a second merchant. For example, the second merchant may be acompetitor of the first merchant or may be complementary to the firstmerchant, thereby having a higher likelihood of the account holderredeeming the offer.

An account holder can receive the predefined offer in a variety of ways.For example, the account holder can receive the predefined offer on aportable electronic device. Moreover, in various embodiments, an accountholder identifier may be a unique identifier associated with theportable electronic device, which is associated with the account holder.The unique identifier associated with the portable electronic device maybe used to match the transaction to an account holder identifier.

The marketing campaign application 210 may also include providing themerchant with management options and reporting options. In variousembodiments and with reference to FIG. 15, the marketing campaignapplication 210 can provide a merchant with a management dashboard forpresenting information related to the merchant's offers. As illustrated,a merchant may have multiple offers, with each campaign having specificparameters and statuses. In various embodiments, the merchant cancontrol the status of the offers varying from live, pending, cancelled,and completed.

The reporting options may include a marketing analysis or monitoring ofthe success of various marketing programs and information relating toaccount holder participation therein. In various embodiments and withreference to FIG. 16, in addition to generating an offer, the system andmethod may further include reporting various metrics of the offer to themerchant or other entity. For example, the report may be provided to anentity that selects the offer parameters. In various embodiments, thesystems and methods may include associating a transaction account of theaccount holder with the offer, monitoring a transaction of thetransaction account, comparing the transaction with a criteriongoverning the offer, and generating a report for the merchant based onthe transaction and account holder information. Reporting informationmay include a daily, weekly, monthly or other periodic breakdown of thetotal sales and total discounts generated by an offer. This informationcan help the merchant track the trends of the offer, such as whether thetotal sales are increasing or decreasing over time. In addition, thereporting information may include tracking information on the number ofrepeat customers and new customers during an offer period. Furthermore,in various embodiments, the report generating may occur during any timeperiod, and in various embodiments in approximately real-time with thetransaction. One advantage of approximately real-time report generationis the ability to modify the offer based on the reporting data.

In various embodiments, a reporting method may include associating, by acomputer-based system, a transaction account of an account holder withan offer, monitoring a transaction of the transaction account, comparingthe transaction with a criterion governing the offer, and generating areport for a merchant based on the transaction and account holderinformation. The generated report may include several types of analysisand information for the merchant. For example, reporting information inthe report may include at least one of number of offers transmitted,number of offers accepted, number of offers redeemed, total value ofredeemed offers, average size of transaction involving the offer, andrate of offer redemption.

In various embodiments, the reporting information in the report mayinclude a return on investment or performance information. The return oninvestment is based on a comparison of transactions during an offerperiod and transactions during a non-offer period. This metric may becalculated in multiple ways. For instance, the metric could compare allof the transactions in an “offer” period to all of the transactions in a“non-offer” period. The metric may also determine whether an accountholder or user spent a minimum amount to receive the offer or more thanthe minimum amount defined in the offer. These comparisons help capturethe secondary effect of providing an offer to account holders, such asthe effect of marketing the offer. Such comparisons could also beseasonally adjusted in order to obtain a more accurate understanding ofan offers impact on business. Further, the reporting may separatelyanalyze transactions making use of the offer versus transactions notmaking use of the offer.

In various embodiments, the reporting information in the report mayinclude tracking information on the number of repeat customers and newcustomers during an offer period. The determination of whether acustomer is a repeat customer or a new customer may be based on thetransaction history of the account holder. When generating the report, asearch of a transaction account number in a database having priortransactions is conducted. If a match is found, then the account holderis a repeat customer. If a match is not found, then the customer may beconsidered a new customer. Furthermore, in various embodiments a searchfor a merchant identifier in the account holder's transaction historydatabase may be conducted. If the merchant identifier is located in theaccount holder's transaction history, then the customer may beconsidered a repeat customer of the merchant. If the merchant identifieris not found, then the customer may be considered a new customer of themerchant.

In various embodiments, the reporting information in the report mayinclude non-transaction information, and the non-transaction informationmay include at least one of demographic information of the accountholder and social media indicators. With respect to demographicinformation, the report may contain information such as age, gender,ethnicity, nationality, income, marital status, disabilities, mobility,home ownership, employment status, and location. The demographicinformation may be obtained directly from the account holder or may beobtained from an account holder database. The demographic informationcan be useful to a merchant to validate whether an offer directedtowards a specific demographic is yielding results. The demographicinformation may aid a merchant in selecting a specific demographic totarget in an offer.

With respect to social media indicators, in various embodiments, thereport may contain information such as the number of “likes”, “shares”,or any other indication given by an account holder to a social medianetwork of a response to the offer.

If the marketing campaign system has access to both the account holderinformation and the transaction information, the system is able toobtain data on both the customer account and the merchant transaction.In various embodiments, the marketing campaign system is configured toaccess the transaction information and account holder information inapproximately real-time, and thereby generate the report approximatelyreal-time with the transaction. In various embodiments, the transactioninformation and account holder information is accessed on a delayed timeperiod, such as daily. Even if the reporting is not real-time, frequentoffer reports still enable the merchant to receive timely status updateson the offer. The timely reports may enable the merchant to modify thecurrent offer based on the reporting data. In accordance with variousembodiments, marketing campaign application 210 comprises an applicationprogramming interface (API) configured to retrieve transaction data inapproximately real-time to the occurrence of a transaction. Thetransaction data is inputted into marketing campaign application 210 andenables reporting on the performance of the current offer, and overallcampaign performance may influence changes to the current campaign or toa future offer.

In various embodiments, a marketing campaign system has limited accessto merchant and account holder data. A marketing campaign reportingmethod may include receiving, from a financial institution, batch dataon multiple transactions. The marketing campaign reporting methodincludes filtering the batch data for a transaction at the merchant andaccount holder information associated with the transaction, comparingthe transaction with a criterion governing an offer, and generating areport for the merchant based on the transaction and the account holderinformation. The reporting information in the report may include atleast one of number of offers transmitted, number of offers accepted,number of offers redeemed, total value of redeemed offers, average sizeof transaction involving the offer, and rate of offer redemption.Further, the reporting information in the report may include a return oninvestment, wherein the return on investment is based on a comparison oftransactions during an offer period and transactions during a non-offerperiod. Further, the reporting information in the report may includenon-transaction information, wherein the non-transaction informationincludes at least one of demographic information of the account holderand social media indicators

In various embodiments where the marketing campaign system receivesbatch data on multiple transactions from a financial institution andfilters for a transaction at the merchant and account holder informationassociated with the transaction, the batch data may not be received inapproximately real-time. Even if the batch data is received after anoffer is completed, a second offer may be generated based on the batchdata.

The present system or any part(s) or function(s) thereof may beimplemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof and may beimplemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems.However, the manipulations performed by embodiments were often referredto in terms, such as matching or selecting, which are commonlyassociated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No suchcapability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases,in any of the operations described herein. Rather, the operations may bemachine operations. Useful machines for performing the variousembodiments include general purpose digital computers, similar devices,or special purpose machines.

In fact, in various embodiments, the embodiments are directed toward oneor more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionalitydescribed herein. An example of a computer system 1700 is shown in FIG.17.

The computer system 1700 includes one or more processors, such asprocessor 1704. The processor 1704 is connected to a communicationinfrastructure 1706 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, ornetwork). Various software embodiments are described in terms of thisexemplary computer system. After reading this description, it willbecome apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how toimplement various embodiments using other computer systems and/orarchitectures.

Computer system 1700 can include a display interface 1702 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure1706 (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit.

Computer system 1700 also includes a main memory 1705, such as forexample random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondarymemory 1710. The secondary memory 1710 may include, for example, a harddisk drive 1712 and/or a removable storage drive 1714, representing afloppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc.The removable storage drive 1714 reads from and/or writes to a removablestorage unit 1718 in a well known manner. Removable storage unit 1718represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc. which isread by and written to by removable storage drive 1714. As will beappreciated, the removable storage unit 1718 includes a computer usablestorage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.

In various embodiments, secondary memory 1710 may include other similardevices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system 1700. Such devices may include, for example,a removable storage unit 1718 and an interface 1720. Examples of suchmay include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as thatfound in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as anerasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable readonly memory (PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storageunits 1718 and interfaces 1720, which allow software and data to betransferred from the removable storage unit 1718 to computer system1700.

Computer system 1700 may also include a communications interface 1724.Communications interface 1724 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 1700 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 1724 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communications interface 1724 are inthe form of signals 1728 which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 1724. These signals 1728 are provided to communicationsinterface 1724 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 1726. Thischannel 1726 carries signals 1728 and may be implemented using wire,cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radiofrequency (RF) link, wireless and other communications channels.

The terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” areused to generally refer to media such as removable storage drive 1714and a hard disk installed in hard disk drive 1712. These computerprogram products provide software to computer system 1700.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 1705 and/or secondary memory 1710. Computerprograms may also be received via communications interface 1724. Suchcomputer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 1700 toperform the features as discussed herein. In particular, the computerprograms, when executed, enable the processor 1704 to perform thefeatures of various embodiments. Accordingly, such computer programsrepresent controllers of the computer system 1700.

In various embodiments, software may be stored in a computer programproduct and loaded into computer system 1700 using removable storagedrive 1714, hard disk drive 1712 or communications interface 1724. Thecontrol logic (software), when executed by the processor 1704, causesthe processor 1704 to perform the functions of various embodiments asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, hardware components are included such asapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of thehardware so as to perform the functions described herein will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

One skilled in the art will appreciate that system 1700 may employ anynumber of databases in any number of configurations. Further, anydatabases discussed herein may be any type of database, such asrelational, hierarchical, graphical, object-oriented, and/or otherdatabase configurations. Common database products that may be used toimplement the databases include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), variousdatabase products available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores,Calif.), Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server by MicrosoftCorporation (Redmond, Wash.), or any other suitable database product.Moreover, the databases may be organized in any suitable manner, forexample, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may be a singlefile, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or any otherdata structure. Association of certain data may be accomplished throughany desired data association technique such as those known or practicedin the art. For example, the association may be accomplished eithermanually or automatically. Automatic association techniques may include,for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL,using a key field in the tables to speed searches, sequential searchesthrough all the tables and files, sorting records in the file accordingto a known order to simplify lookup, and/or the like. The associationstep may be accomplished by a database merge function, for example,using a “key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors.

More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according tothe high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example,certain types of data may be designated as a key field in a plurality ofrelated data tables and the data tables may then be linked on the basisof the type of data in the key field. The data corresponding to the keyfield in each of the linked data tables may be the same or of the sametype. However, data tables having similar, though not identical, data inthe key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, for example. Anysuitable data storage technique may be utilized to store data without astandard format. Data sets may be stored using any suitable technique,including, for example, storing individual files using an ISO/IEC 7816-4file structure; implementing a domain whereby a dedicated file isselected that exposes one or more elementary files containing one ormore data sets; using data sets stored in individual files using ahierarchical filing system; data sets stored as records in a single file(including compression, SQL accessible, hashed via one or more keys,numeric, alphabetical by first tuple, etc.); Binary Large Object (BLOB);stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC 7816-6 dataelements; stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IECAbstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) as in ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825; and/orother proprietary techniques that may include fractal compressionmethods, image compression methods, etc.

In various embodiments, the ability to store a wide variety ofinformation in different formats is facilitated by storing theinformation as a BLOB. Thus, any binary information can be stored in astorage space associated with a data set. As discussed above, the binaryinformation may be stored on the financial transaction instrument orexternal to but affiliated with the financial transaction instrument.The BLOB method may store data sets as ungrouped data elements formattedas a block of binary via a fixed memory offset using either fixedstorage allocation, circular queue techniques, or best practices withrespect to memory management (e.g., paged memory, least recently used,etc.). By using BLOB methods, the ability to store various data setsthat have different formats facilitates the storage of data associatedwith system 1700 by multiple and unrelated owners of the data sets. Forexample, a first data set which may be stored may be provided by a firstparty, a second data set which may be stored may be provided by anunrelated second party, and yet a third data set which may be stored,may be provided by an third party unrelated to the first and secondparty. Each of these three exemplary data sets may contain differentinformation that is stored using different data storage formats and/ortechniques. Further, each data set may contain subsets of data that alsomay be distinct from other subsets.

As stated above, in various embodiments of system 1700, the data can bestored without regard to a common format. However, in one exemplaryembodiment, the data set (e.g., BLOB) may be annotated in a standardmanner when provided for manipulating the data onto the financialtransaction instrument. The annotation may comprise a short header,trailer, or other appropriate indicator related to each data set that isconfigured to convey information useful in managing the various datasets. For example, the annotation may be called a “condition header”,“header”, “trailer”, or “status”, herein, and may comprise an indicationof the status of the data set or may include an identifier correlated toa specific issuer or owner of the data. In one example, the first threebytes of each data set BLOB may be configured or configurable toindicate the status of that particular data set; e.g., LOADED,INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED. Subsequent bytes ofdata may be used to indicate for example, the identity of the issuer,user, transaction/membership account identifier or the like. Each ofthese condition annotations are further discussed herein.

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based on thetransaction, merchant, issuer, user or the like. Furthermore, thesecurity information may restrict/permit only certain actions such asaccessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, thedata set annotation indicates that only the data set owner or the userare permitted to delete a data set, various identified users may bepermitted to access the data set for reading, and others are altogetherexcluded from accessing the data set. However, other access restrictionparameters may also be used allowing various entities to access a dataset with various permission levels as appropriate.

The data, including the header or trailer may be received by astand-alone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify, oraugment the data in accordance with the header or trailer. As such, invarious embodiments, the header or trailer is not stored on thetransaction device along with the associated issuer-owned data butinstead the appropriate action may be taken by providing to thetransaction instrument user at the stand-alone device, the appropriateoption for the action to be taken. System 1700 contemplates a datastorage arrangement wherein the header or trailer, or header or trailerhistory, of the data is stored on the transaction instrument in relationto the appropriate data.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,any databases, systems, devices, servers or other components of system1700 may consist of any combination thereof at a single location or atmultiple locations, wherein each database or system 1700 includes any ofvarious suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes,encryption, decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

In addition to those described herein, the various system componentsdiscussed herein may include one or more of the following: a host serveror other computing systems including a processor for processing digitaldata; a memory coupled to the processor for storing digital data; aninput digitizer coupled to the processor for inputting digital data; anapplication program stored in the memory and accessible by the processorfor directing processing of digital data by the processor; a displaydevice coupled to the processor and memory for displaying informationderived from digital data processed by the processor; and a plurality ofdatabases. Various databases used herein may include: client data;merchant data; financial institution data; and/or like data useful inthe operation of the present system. As those skilled in the art willappreciate, user computer may include an operating system (e.g., WindowsNT, 95/98/2000, OS2, UNIX, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, etc.) as well asvarious conventional support software and drivers typically associatedwith computers. The computer may include any suitable personal computer,network computer, workstation, minicomputer, mainframe or the like. Usercomputer can be in a home or business environment with access to anetwork. In an exemplary embodiment, access is through a network or theInternet through a commercially-available web-browser software package.

The phrases account holder or cardmember may include any person, entity,government organization, business, machine associated with a transactionaccount, regardless of whether a physical card is associated with theaccount. For example, the cardmember may include a transaction accountowner, a transaction account user, an account affiliate, a child accountuser, a subsidiary account user, a beneficiary of an account, acustodian of an account, and/or any other person or entity affiliated orassociated with a transaction account.

As used herein, the term “network” includes any cloud, cloud computingsystem or electronic communications system or method which incorporateshardware and/or software components. Communication among the parties maybe accomplished through any suitable communication channels, such as,for example, a telephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet,point of interaction device (point of sale device, personal digitalassistant (e.g., iPhone®, Palm Pilot®, Blackberry®), cellular phone,kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellite communications, off-linecommunications, wireless communications, transponder communications,local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual privatenetwork (VPN), networked or linked devices, keyboard, mouse and/or anysuitable communication or data input modality. Moreover, although thesystem is frequently described herein as being implemented with TCP/IPcommunications protocols, the system may also be implemented using IPX,Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH),or any number of existing or future protocols. If the network is in thenature of a public network, such as the Internet, it may be advantageousto presume the network to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers.Specific information related to the protocols, standards, andapplication software utilized in connection with the Internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not bedetailed herein. See, for example, DILIP NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS ANDPROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, various authors, (Sybex 1999);DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0 (1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IPCLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997) and DAVID GOURLEY AND BRIAN TOTTY, HTTP, THEDEFINITIVE GUIDE (2002), the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

“Cloud” or “Cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing athttp://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/cloud-def-v15.doc (lastvisited Feb. 4, 2011), which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

In various embodiments, components, modules, and/or engines of system100 may be implemented as micro-applications or micro-apps. Micro-appsare typically deployed in the context of a mobile operating system,including for example, a Palm mobile operating system, a Windows mobileoperating system, an Android Operating System, Apple iOS, a Blackberryoperating system and the like. The micro-app may be configured toleverage the resources of the larger operating system and associatedhardware via a set of predetermined rules which govern the operations ofvarious operating systems and hardware resources. For example, where amicro-app desires to communicate with a device or network other than themobile device or mobile operating system, the micro-app may leverage thecommunication protocol of the operating system and associated devicehardware under the predetermined rules of the mobile operating system.Moreover, where the micro-app desires an input from a user, themicro-app may be configured to request a response from the operatingsystem which monitors various hardware components and then communicatesa detected input from the hardware to the micro-app.

The disclosure may be described herein in terms of functional blockcomponents, screen shots, optional selections and various processingsteps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocks may berealized by any number of hardware and/or software components configuredto perform the specified functions. For example, system 1700 may employvarious integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processingelements, logic elements, look-up tables, and/or the like, which maycarry out a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of system 1700 may be implemented with any programming orscripting language such as C, C++, Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, VisualBasic, SQL Stored Procedures, extensible markup language (XML), with thevarious algorithms being implemented with any combination of datastructures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements.Further, it should be noted that system 1700 may employ any number ofconventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, dataprocessing, network control, and/or the like. Still further, system 1700could be used to detect or prevent security issues with a client-sidescripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For abasic introduction of cryptography and network security, see any of thefollowing references: (1) “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms,And Source Code In C,” by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons(second edition, 1995); (2) “Java Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson,published by O'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) “Cryptography & NetworkSecurity: Principles & Practice” by William Stallings, published byPrentice Hall; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Phrases and terms similar to “business”, “merchant”, “supplier” or“seller” may be used interchangeably with each other and shall mean anyperson, entity, distributor, system, software and/or hardware. Themerchant may be a provider, broker and/or any other entity in thedistribution chain of goods or services and/or that receives payment orother consideration. For example, a merchant may be a grocery store, aretail store, a travel agency, a service provider, an on-line merchantor the like. For example, a supplier may request payment for goods soldto a buyer who holds an account with a transaction account issuer.

The terms “user,” “end user,” “consumer,” “customer,” “participant,”and/or the plural form of these terms are used interchangeablythroughout herein to refer to those persons or entities capable ofaccessing, using, being affected by and/or benefiting from the tool thatthe present disclosure provides for the rewards program describedherein. This includes both individual consumers and corporate customerssuch as, for example, small businesses.

Phrases and terms similar to an “item” may include any good, service,information, experience, reward, points, coupons, credits, monetaryequivalent, anything of value, something of minimal or no value, etc.

Phrases and terms similar to “financial institution,” “transactionaccount issuer,” “issuer”, and “payment processor” may be usedinterchangeably and include any person, entity, software and/or hardwarethat offers transaction account services. For example, a paymentprocessor may include an issuer and/or an acquirer. Although oftenreferred to as a “financial institution,” the financial institution mayrepresent any type of bank, lender or other type of account issuinginstitution, such as credit card companies, card sponsoring companies,or third party issuers under contract with financial institutions. It isfurther noted that other participants may be involved in some phases ofthe transaction, such as an intermediary settlement institution. Phrasesor terms similar to a “processor” (such as a payment processor) mayinclude a company (e.g., a third party institution) appointed (e.g., bya merchant) to handle transactions for merchant banks. Processors may bebroken down into two types: front-end and back-end. Front-end processorshave connections to various transaction accounts and supplyauthorization and settlement services to the merchant banks' merchants.Back-end processors accept settlements from front-end processors and,via The Federal Reserve Bank, move money from an issuing bank to themerchant bank. In an operation that will usually take a few seconds, thepayment processor will both check the details received by forwarding thedetails to the respective account's issuing bank or card association forverification, and may carry out a series of anti-fraud measures againstthe transaction. Additional parameters, including the account's countryof issue and its previous payment history, may be used to gauge theprobability of the transaction being approved. In response to thepayment processor receiving confirmation that the transaction accountdetails have been verified, the information may be relayed back to themerchant, who will then complete the payment transaction. In response tothe verification being denied, the payment processor relays theinformation to the merchant, who may then decline the transaction.

As used herein, “distribution channel” may include transmitting datausing various methods and applications using any suitable communicationchannels. As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic datafrom one system component to another over a network connection.Additionally, as used herein, “data” may include encompassinginformation such as commands, queries, files, data for storage, and thelike in digital or any other form.

Phrases or terms similar to “transaction account” may include anyaccount that may be used to facilitate a financial transaction. A“transaction account” as used herein refers to an account associatedwith an open account or a closed account system (as described herein).The transaction account may exist in a physical or non-physicalembodiment. For example, a transaction account may be distributed innon-physical embodiments such as an account number, frequent-flyeraccount, and telephone calling account or the like. Furthermore, aphysical embodiment of a transaction account may be distributed as afinancial instrument.

In general, transaction accounts may be used for transactions betweenthe user and merchant through any suitable communication means, such as,for example, a telephone network, intranet, the global, public Internet,a point of interaction device (e.g., a point of sale (POS) device,personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile telephone, kiosk, etc.), onlinecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications, and/orthe like.

An “account”, “account code”, or “account number”, as used herein, mayinclude any device, code, number, letter, symbol, digital certificate,smart chip, digital signal, analog signal, biometric or otheridentifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the consumer to access,interact with or communicate with the system (e.g., one or more of anauthorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN),Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like). The accountnumber may optionally be located on or associated with a rewards card,charge card, credit card, debit card, prepaid card, telephone card,embossed card, smart card, magnetic stripe card, bar code card,transponder, radio frequency card or an associated account. The systemmay include or interface with any of the foregoing cards or devices, ora transponder and RFID reader in RF communication with the transponder(which may include a fob). Typical devices may include, for example, akey ring, tag, card, cell phone, wristwatch or any such form capable ofbeing presented for interrogation. Moreover, the system, computing unitor device discussed herein may include a “pervasive computing device,”which may include a traditionally non-computerized device that isembedded with a computing unit. Examples can include watches, Internetenabled kitchen appliances, restaurant tables embedded with RF readers,wallets or purses with imbedded transponders, etc.

The account code may be distributed and stored in any form of plastic,electronic, magnetic, radio frequency, wireless, audio and/or opticaldevice capable of transmitting or downloading data from itself to asecond device. A customer account code may be, for example, asixteen-digit transaction account code, although each transactionaccount provider has its own numbering system, such as the fifteen-digitnumbering system used by American Express. Each company's transactionaccount codes comply with that company's standardized format such thatthe company using a fifteen-digit format will generally use three-spacedsets of numbers, as represented by the number “0000 000000 00000”. Thefirst five to seven digits are reserved for processing purposes andidentify the issuing bank, card type, etc. In this example, the last(fifteenth) digit is used as a sum check for the fifteen digit number.The intermediary eight-to-eleven digits are used to uniquely identifythe customer. A merchant account code may be, for example, any number oralpha-numeric characters that identify a particular merchant forpurposes of card acceptance, account reconciliation, reporting, or thelike.

It is noted that references in the specification to “one embodiment”,“an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that theembodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it would be within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

These software elements may be loaded onto a general purpose computer,special purpose computer, or other programmable data processingapparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions that executeon the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus createmeans for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block orblocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, may be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions. Further, illustrations ofthe process flows and the descriptions thereof may make reference touser windows, web pages, web sites, web forms, prompts, etc.Practitioners will appreciate that the illustrated steps describedherein may comprise in any number of configurations including the use ofwindows, web pages, web forms, popup windows, prompts and/or the like.It should be further appreciated that the multiple steps as illustratedand described may be combined into single web pages and/or windows buthave been expanded for the sake of simplicity. In other cases, stepsillustrated and described as single process steps may be separated intomultiple web pages and/or windows but have been combined for simplicity.

Practitioners will appreciate that there are a number of methods fordisplaying data within a browser-based document. Data may be representedas standard text or within a fixed list, scrollable list, drop-downlist, editable text field, fixed text field, pop-up window, and/or thelike. Likewise, there are a number of methods available for modifyingdata in a web page such as, for example, free text entry using akeyboard, selection of menu items, check boxes, option boxes, and/or thelike.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure isaccordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, inwhich reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean“one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one ormore.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, or C’is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted tomean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may bepresent in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, orthat any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in asingle embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and Band C. All structural, chemical, and functional equivalents to theelements of the above-described exemplary embodiments that are known tothose of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein byreference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims.Further, a list of elements does not include only those elements but mayinclude other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process,method, article, or apparatus.

1. A method comprising: setting, by a merchant system, offer parameters,wherein an offer is generated based on the offer parameters by acomputer-based system configured to facilitate the offer; selecting, bythe merchant system, a first electronic distribution channel and asecond electronic distribution channel, wherein the offer is distributedby the computer-based system to an account holder via the firstelectronic distribution channel and the second electronic distributionchannel; and receiving, at the merchant system and from thecomputer-based system, a report based on a transaction associated withthe offer.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting, bythe merchant system, a merchant location for redemption of the offer. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising setting, by the merchant, acriterion for the offer.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstelectronic distribution channel and the second electronic distributionchannel individually comprise at least one of a merchant website, asocial media website, an affiliate website, a partner website, anexternal vendor, and a mobile device communication.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining, by the merchant system, abusiness objective of the offer, wherein the business objective is atleast one of acquisition of new customers, and loyalty of priorcustomers.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the offer parameters areprovided based on the business objective.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the computer-based system provides offer parameter guidelinesbased on the business objective.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein theoffer parameters include at least one of a percent discount, a discountvalue, a spend threshold to receive a discount, a limited number ofvisits to use the offer, an offer duration, a maximum number of providedoffers, and a maximum number of redeemed offers.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the report includes at least one of number of the offerstransmitted, number of the offers accepted, number of the offersredeemed, total value of the redeemed offers, average size of thetransaction involving the offer, and rate of the offer redemption. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the report includes a return oninvestment, wherein the return on investment is based on a comparison ofa first transactions during an offer period and second transactionsduring a non-offer period.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the reportincludes non-transaction information, and wherein the non-transactioninformation includes at least one of demographic information of theaccount holder and social media indicators.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein reporting information in the report includes trackinginformation on repeat customers and new customers during an offerperiod.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the report is received inapproximately real-time with the transaction.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein the computer-based system is configured to generate offer databased on the offer parameters and merchant transaction data, and whereinthe computer-based system is further configured to determine a firstdata subset of the offer data for distribution through the firstelectronic distribution channel and determine a second data subset ofthe offer data for distribution through the second electronicdistribution channel.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the offer is acoupon-less offer.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprisingdebiting a transaction account held by the merchant system, in responseto the computer-based system matching an accepted offer with a record ofcharge in a transaction account held by the account holder.
 17. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising revising, by the merchant system,the offer based on the report during an offer period.
 18. A merchantsystem comprising: a processor for setting an offer; a tangible,non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the processor, thetangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that,in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor toperform operations comprising: setting, by a merchant system, offerparameters, wherein the offer is generated based on the offer parametersby a computer-based system configured to facilitate the offer;selecting, by the merchant system, a first electronic distributionchannel and a second electronic distribution channel, wherein the offeris distributed by the computer-based system to an account holder via thefirst electronic distribution channel and the second electronicdistribution channel; and receiving, at the merchant system and from thecomputer-based system, a report based on a transaction associated withthe offer.
 19. The merchant system of claim 18, wherein the offerparameters include at least one of a percent discount, a discount value,a spend threshold to receive a discount, a limited number of visits touse the offer, an offer duration, a maximum number of provided offers,and a maximum number of redeemed offers.
 20. The merchant system ofclaim 18, further comprising determining, by the merchant system, abusiness objective of the offer, wherein the business objective is atleast one of acquisition of new customers, and loyalty of priorcustomers.